Europe

Dr Poul Engberg-Pedersen has been nominated IUCN Deputy Director General. During 2005-2010, Poul Engberg-Pedersen was Director General of Norad, which is the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. …

“By 2016, bioenergy responsibly contributes to biodiversity conservation, climate change solutions and sustainable livelihoods, as part of building resilient ecological and socio-economic systems.” This is IUCN’s working vision for sustainable bioenergy, an outcome of a recent workshop that convened Members, partners, Commissions and IUCN staff to develop an IUCN bioenergy strategy.* …

The Government of France has launched the Year of Overseas (Année des outre-mer) to uncover the wealth of France overseas. The year will focus on culture, institutions, sustainable development, economics and business, handicrafts, tourism, recreation and leisure. …

IUCN's first newsletter on biodiversity and climate change in Europe overseas is now available. This first issue focuses on Greenland, which is a Danish overseas territory and the largest island in the world. …

28% of plant and animal species from the Pacific Islands are threatened with extinction. This is the latest figure identified under IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species™ (2008). The report also states that of the species assessed, 14% are listed under the data deficient category illustrating the lack of information to determine their threat status. …

The future of nature conservation lies in a holistic integrated approach: this was the over-riding conclusion of a meeting on Water and Biodiversity held by the Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development at the European Parliament on Wednesday 9th February. …

In 2011, municipalities from France, Spain, Slovakia and Hungary will once again have the chance to become the national "Capital of Biodiversity". 150 attendees gathered to celebrate the launch of the last of the four national competitions in Paris. …

Until the 6th March you can vote in the international European Tree of the Year contest. Five trees from five countries are in the running (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia). The winning tree will be announced at a ceremony at the IUCN European Union Representative Office in Brussels during Greenweek 2011 (24 – 27 May). …